Oded Machness

Machness was, statistically, the top Israeli scorer of all time; and his goal against Maccabi Petah Tikva in 1980, where Oded flicked the ball past the entire defense before bashing it into the net from midair was recently voted the greatest goal of all time by the Israeli press. During his career, Machness also appeared in nine international games and scored two goals for the Israeli National team.

Birth and Death Dates:
unknown

Career Highlights:
Machness played on his first championship team during the 1973-74 season and was the Israel League's top scorer for the first time during the 1975-76 season when he scored 21 goals in 31 games. Oded then helped the his squad, the Diamonds, to a glorious league and State Cup "double" in 1977-78, scoring the game-winner in the Cup final. Oded was voted "Player of the Year" by both players and press. In 1978-79, Machness was top scorer again with a tally of 18. The next year, Netanya captured the league title again and established themselves as the main power in the local scene.

The 1981-82 Maccabi Netanya side destroyed almost every opponent they faced and scored five or six goals a game on a regular basis. That team with David Lavi, Benny Lam and Moshe Griani played what was perhaps the purest, most entertaining version of the game Israel has ever seen. As stellar as they were, their lack of consistency meant that Dror Kashtan's Hapoel Kfar Sava snapped up the title. Nevertheles, Machness finished the year with 22 goals.

Netanya legend Mordechay Spiegler was brought in to coach the Diamonds during the 1982-83 season. Spiegler was able to add practicality to the customary Netanya flair. The strategy worked well, and Netanya won the title. After he retired from playing, Machness tried his hand at coaching, including a stint at Netanya, and functioned as CEO at Maccabi Netanya for a time as well.

Origin:
Netanya, Israel

Position:
Striker

Career Statistics:
196 goals in 402 games (top scorer of all time)